minority

[mahy-nawr-i-tee, -nor, mi-]

noun

plural

minorities 

1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.

2. a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.

3. a group in society distinguished from, and less dominant than, the more numerous majority.

   The ethnic minority was disproportionately affected by the reduction in preventative medical services.

4. a racial, ethnic, religious, or social subdivision of a society that is subordinated in political, financial, or social power by the dominant group, without regard to the size of these groups.

   legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.

5. a member of such a group.

6. the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.

   Synonyms: girlhood, boyhood, childhood

adjective

1. of or relating to a minority.

minority

/ mɪ-, maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ /

noun

1. the smaller in number of two parts, factions, or groups

2. a group that is different racially, politically, etc, from a larger group of which it is a part

3. 1. the state of being a minor

   2. the period during which a person is below legal age Compare majority

4. (modifier) relating to or being a minority

   a minority interest

   a minority opinion

Other Word Forms

• nonminority adjective
• prominority adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of minority¹

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Middle French minorité, from Medieval Latin minōritāt-, stem of minōritās; minor, -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of minority¹

C16: from Medieval Latin minōritās, from Latin _minor

Example Sentences

Dream Exchange, based in Chicago, had sought to list companies owned by minority entrepreneurs, pitching itself as a Nasdaq for Black-owned businesses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Seeing a lot of other ethnic minorities being able to play music just creates a community amongst everyone," she says.

Read more on BBC

Only a small minority with high salaries is able to increase their retirement savings and see their investments grow.

Read more on MarketWatch

Several hundred people protested on Tuesday in Syria's coastal city of Latakia in the country's Alawite heartland to protest recent attacks against the minority community, AFP correspondents said.

Read more on Barron's

For centuries the Maniq -- one of Thailand's smallest ethnic minorities — lived as hunter-gatherers, roaming the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula, moving with the seasons in search of food.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• opposition